The Adelaide Football Club has signed off on its new $80 million HQ, choosing Thebarton Oval as its new home which will include a “world-class” facility for both the men’s and women’s teams and the community.
The Thebarton Oval site was confirmed after the Crows’ bid for the former Brompton Gasworks site was shut down last year. Crows chairman John Olsen hoped the club would be settled in its new home by 2025.
According to the Adelaide Crows’ plans, the men’s team will train on Thebarton’s main ground, set to be the size of Adelaide Oval, and Kings Reserve would be home to the Crows’ AFLW side and will have dimensions similar to the MCG.
The benefits of the 9.1ha Thebarton site are that it’s about a third bigger than the 5.8ha Brompton Gasworks and also poses “significantly lower environmental remediation risk”.
“Aside from being a state-of-the-art headquarters for all players, coaches and staff, it will be our AFLW team’s home ground, having dedicated facilities for both athletes and spectators,” Olsen said. “We’ve made a request of government [for funding] and we wait with bated breath.”
The new Crows HQ will include:
■ Hydrotherapy, rehabilitation and medical amenities, and publicly accessible allied health services such as physiotherapy.
■ An indoor artificial grass training field nearly double the size of what is currently available at West Lakes.
■ A new council community hub replacing the existing building which will be demolished as part of the South Road works.
■ A museum and cafe.
■ A skateboard park, playground and soccer pitch-sized turfed area.
Housing developments have encroached on the Crows’ current base at West Lakes since the SA Football Commission sold the precinct to developers in 2014 with the club seeking more space after it added an AFLW side in 2017.
The Crows had planned to redevelop the aquatic centre in North Adelaide, but that was put on hold during the pandemic while Adelaide City Council blocked another proposal to develop in nearby parklands.
The Crows are not the only AFL team in the middle of headquarters renewal – check out a sneak peek at Swans’ new $70m home.